Save a Life
by Avery Taylor
Summary: JR and Annie realize their feelings amidst a dangerous situation for both.
1. Chapter 1

Annie nervously paced about the Chandler mansion, scolding herself for revisiting her old habit of biting her nails out of anxiety. She _hated _doing this to Emma. And it was all her fault—what she did with JR ruined everything for her and her daughter. Suddenly, the front door opening made Annie jump. Emma walked in with a blank look and sat on the couch with a sigh. Annie put on a smile as best she could and sat across from her daughter.

"Hey, you," she said softly, brushing a strand of light blonde hair out of her daughter's face. "Did you thank Hannah's mom for driving you home?"

"Yeah," Emma said with a slow nod. She looked up at her mother. "Mommy…Kelly said her mom won't let her talk to me anymore because all the people in my family do bad things and go to jail." Emma forced back tears. "But that's not true, right? It was just a mistake when daddy went to jail, and…and you were sick, right?"

Annie's heart broke. She held bad her own tears as she sat beside Emma, pulling her baby girl into her lap.

"Our family is _not _full of bad people," Annie assured Emma. And that's right. Daddy and I…there were things going on that not all kids would understand, but you know in your heart that we aren't bad people." Emma nodded slowly.

"I just wish people would understand like I do and not be mean about it…" she sighed. "Because I have the best mommy and daddy and stepdaddy in the world."

"Emma, I need to tell you something," Annie blurted before she cried so hard that she couldn't speak. "I'll have a talk with Kelly's mother, but the reason she said those things was not just because me and daddy were in trouble before. Someone else is in trouble." She couldn't bring herself to say her husband's name at the moment.

"Daddy isn't going to jail, is he?" Emma whimpered, tears falling down her cheeks. Annie held her daughter close.

"No, Emma…" she whispered. "Scott." Emma immediately looked at her mother, shocked.

"Scott…?" she said with disbelief, her blue eyes wide. "When are we going to see him again? He has to see you, right? He's your husband."

"Not for much longer, sweetie," Annie sobbed. She tried to compose herself as much as possible. "Basically…Scott did a very bad thing and he felt horrible about it, so he was a good man by telling the police what he did. So that he could be punished for it. He wanted to tell the truth and be honest because he knew he needed to pay for the bad thing. But now he's going to be in jail…and we may not see him for a long time." Annie broke into uncontrollable sobs, hugging her daughter. "And we have to leave the mansion, too."

Emma sat there, a bit frozen out of surprise and processing all of the new-found information.

"But I like it here," Emma said softly. Suddenly, she threw herself to a stand. "You said this wouldn't happen!" she whined. "You said you and Scott would be together forever! You said this was the last time you would get married…but that's what you said with Adam, too! And when you were married to daddy…you told me the three of us would be together forever. Why do you keep lying, mommy?"

Shocked by such an outburst, Annie stared at her daughter for a moment. Then, she took the little girl by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"Emma, I—"

"NO!" Emma screeched, half angry and half devastated at yet another change in her life. "I'm not leaving! _You _leave! I don't want to be around you anymore! YOU'RE A LIAR!"

At that, Emma darted out of the room and stomped up the stairs, leaving Annie in the parlor with an unbearable guilt and regret.


	2. Chapter 2

After plowing through the paparazzi, JR made his way back to the mansion. He was completely exhausted from all of the damage control resulting from Scott's confession that he couldn't imagine anything better to do than to go straight to his bedroom and sleep. However, on the way there, he ran into Emma's babysitter Anya, who was standing out front of the little girl's door. She looked at JR with a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank God…maybe you can make her budge," Anya said with relief. She knocked on the door. "Emma, JR's here. Wanna come out and say hi?"

"NO!" Emma snapped from inside the room. Anya grumbled a bit. JR seemed confused.

"Why is she so upset?" he asked.

"Mrs. Chandler said it was complicated, but mostly Emma's upset that they're moving out of the mansion and the whole thing with her stepfather being in jail. "

"Moving out of the mansion?" JR blurted with surprise. Anya nodded.

"Mrs. Chandler didn't seem to have much time to explain—she went out in kind of a hurry."

"Where?" asked JR. Anya shrugged.

"I don't know…" she sighed. "But she seemed really upset. And she hated leaving with Emma so upset but she couldn't even get her to talk, much less open the door. I'm just hoping the little munchkin's going to need to go to the bathroom, get hungry, or give into one of my many, many bribes." She let a half-smiled slip across her face. "The poor thing. Her mother loves her so much…and it's not Mrs. Chandler's fault entirely for all the change in that little girl's life." Anya looked back towards Emma's door, then at JR again. "You wanna give it a shot?" JR thought for a moment, then stepped towards Emma's room. He knocked on the door.

"Hey, Emma, having fun in there?" JR said, leaning up against the door. He didn't hear anything from her. After several seconds, he tried again. "You know…when I was a kid, it seemed like everything was always changing. Both my parents were always getting married and divorcing and fighting over me…and I spent a lot of time in my room like you are now. But you're lucky, you know? Because your mommy and daddy both understand that you need both of them, and you will always have both of them in your life. And Scott…I know you're upset that he's going to be away for a while…but the important thing is that he still loves you." JR paused for a moment, trying to listen for a response from Emma. He didn't hear anything so far. "That's the thing, Emma…a lot of things change—houses, rooms, family, and even you—but the one thing that never changes is the love. Your mommy loves you, your daddy loves you, Scott may not see you for a while but he loves you…and you know, I love you, too. And I'm upset that you're leaving the mansion, but like I said, I still love you. And you can come and visit me and AJ all you want after you leave."

Suddenly, JR heard a soft click and the door opened. A teary-eyed Emma stood there, crying, and threw herself into JR's arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the course of an hour, JR had checked the yacht club, Krystal's, and the park for Annie but still could not find her. He had even stopped by the parking lot in front of Ryan's apartment complex to look for Annie's car, but he once again had no luck. Out of ideas, he let his head drop onto the steering wheel. Where the hell could she have gone? Suddenly, he realized there was only once place he hadn't checked. Confusion. He cursed to himself for not thinking of that before, and then sped off towards the bar.


	4. Chapter 4

Annie downed yet another scotch, which was far from being one too many. Her head spun a bit, but at least she could forget about things for a while. It was late at night by now and the bar had cleared out, save about five men a little older than Annie who were clearly regulars at the place.

Annie felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to face a man who looked to be about forty-five, his eyes half-shut and a drunken smile on his face.

"I'm buying your next one," he said, sitting beside her.

"Fine with me," Annie said, not really caring about anything at the moment. She was suddenly distracted by a song that came on. She bobbed her head a little bit, seeing as it was one of her favorite songs. The man beside her laughed.

"That all the moves you got?" he asked in a deep, mumbling voice.

"Hell no," Annie said, giving him a sharp look. She smirked and stood up with wobbly legs, then climbed onto the bar. The other men there all whistled with approval. Annie smiled at their approval and through her arms up, swaying to the beat, her short dress riding up on her legs.

Dancing seemed to be the only thing at the moment that could make her forget. It was probably the thought she had to put into not falling off the bar as a result of her clear drunkenness. She spaced into a world of memories—the lies and constant fear that resulted from being with Terry, the love that never was with Ryan, the brief asylum romance with Aidan, the opportunities that Adam provided even though she had some feelings for him, and the love that she truly did have for Scott but just never seemed to be enough. Why was she never satisfied? She tried to make a better choice in love every time, and every time it happened, she truly thought she had. She thought she could change. But even when she was the goody-goody cookie-baking mommy dearest back at the time of her arrival in Pine Valley, deep down her true self was successfully breaking through the straightjacket of her disguise and it was only a matter of time before it freed itself.

Before Annie knew it, the song had ended. She looked around as if to make sure her assumption was correct, then after the next song started playing, she squatted to sit on the bar so that she could lower herself back to the ground. All of a sudden, she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She turned to face the man from before.

"Keep dancing, babe," he snickered. She other drunks clapped and yelled in approval, but instead of allowing her to climb back up for another dance—which she wasn't planning to do in the first place—one of the younger men grabbed her legs that draped over the edge of the bar and started sliding his hands up her thighs.

"Get off me!" she screeched with disgust, giving him a push and lowering herself to the ground. She stumbled towards the exit, but then a different man blocked her path. He grabbed her hips and pushed her up against the wall.

"Playing hard to get," he whispered with crazy, lustful eyes. Annie's eyes widened with fear, unable to stop herself from thinking about a similar experience.

"_Playing hard to get…yes, I like that," Tucker said in a soft, seductive tone._

"_Get off me!" Annie insisted, pushing his hand away from her arm. He suddenly lunged forward and threw her on the bed, tearing at the straps of her dress._

"No!" Annie screamed, giving him a push and trying to get past him; however, by then all five men had crowded around her, touching her and trying to dance with her—some grabbing for her clothes.

"Dead end, sweetheart," chuckled the oldest man. He slid her dress up.


	5. Chapter 5

JR pulled into the parking lot of Confusion and was beyond relieved to see Annie's car in the parking lot. He froze a moment. Now that he knew where she was, he faced the reality that she might not want to see him. Why did he want to see her so bad anyway? God, he promised himself that he would ignore these boundless, compulsive feelings for Annie for his own sake and the sake of the custody battle for his son. If there was any hint that he and Annie were rolling around in bed again, Marissa could easily use it against him to get sole custody of AJ.

JR sighed and looked at her car as if the answer to whether he should go inside or not was in it. He considered she might need some time alone and was about find a piece of paper or napkin somewhere on his car to scribble a note instructing Annie to call him and tuck it under the windshield wipers. But then he heard a familiar scream.

"Annie," he whispered to himself, his feet padding loudly against the asphalt as he raced through the parking lot, towards the entrance of the bar.

Another scream seemed to shake the walls, and JR witnessed five men crowded near a wall. He didn't see Annie at first, but another scream erupted from that direction and he saw a slender arm try to reach out from the crowd of horny drunks.

With an anger and determination that would have scared him if he actually noticed the feelings pulsing through every vein, JR tore through the crowd. He threw every drunk man off to the side, revealing a shaking, terrified woman that he almost didn't recognize as Annie. Her hair was all over the place and she had black mascara tears dripping down her cheeks. Her dress was a bit twisted around her, but luckily JR got there before the horny bastard could tear it off her.

Not even thinking, JR took Annie's hand and began to lead her out of the bar. A man stepped in his way and said something inaudible. JR punched him in the face before he could take another step towards Annie. Annie gasped in shock. The rest of the drunken men stepped back, as if suddenly realizing what the alcohol had almost helped them do to the woman in front of them. JR suddenly put one hand behind Annie's back and slipped the other under her legs, lifting her up with ease. She made no move to protest as JR took her to his car. He set her in the passenger seat and buckled her as if she was a small child. Annie didn't move. Her hands shook, but otherwise she was completely frozen. JR almost felt like he was leaving her just by closing the door on her side of the car and walking over to the drivers' side.

He started the car and just looked ahead for a moment, then at Annie. He couldn't stand to see her shiver like she was, so he slipped off his light jacket and offered it to her. When she didn't react to the offer, he leaned her forward slightly and draped the jacket across her shoulders as she stared blankly.

"Annie?" he said softly, trying to meet her glance. She was starting to scare him. He looked her over for a moment, debating on whether he should take her to the hospital or not. He saw the marks where fingernails had dug into her skin on her shaking hands. It took all the restraint left in JR to keep himself from running back into that bar and killing every single drunk bastard in the place.

Finally, JR managed to pull the car out of the parking lot and start driving back home. He tried to slow his pounding heart; he didn't know if that was a result of worry or the feeling that he could no longer deny—love.


	6. Chapter 6

It was nearly two in the morning when JR pulled into the driveway of the Chandler mansion. He looked over at Annie, who hadn't moved the entire time.

"What can I do?" he asked her softly. At first, it looked like she wasn't going to respond to him. Then she slowly turned her head in his direction.

"It was just like before," she stammered, her voice coming out in a whisper. JR looked at her questioningly. "With…Tucker…and you…and…it was like…"

"It brought it all back?" JR finished. Annie met his eyes for a second before nodding.

"I…they could have—"

"But they didn't," JR blurted before she could finish her sentence. "You're safe."

Knowing that now, Annie felt tears meet her eyes. The alcohol in her body was disorienting, but she knew what she was feeling, and she could tell JR felt the same way.


	7. Chapter 7

It didn't take long for Annie to fall asleep that night. He had carried her upstairs and she was too exhausted to stay awake for another minute. JR—on the other hand—was not tired the slightest bit. He lowered himself to the bed, wearing just a loose pair of sweatpants, and positioned himself at her side.

"I love you," he whispered passionately. He loved the sound of it so much that he said it again. And again. He lost count after a while. Slowly, he bent his head down and kissed her softly on the shoulder.

"We can be unstoppable," he told her, wondering what the hell was stopping him from saying these things to her when she was actually awake. What was wrong with him?

JR had never loved anyone like he loved Annie. That was probably the reason why. He never loved Marissa—she just made him feel closer to Babe in some twisted way. Now Babe, he loved. He loved her until her last breath. And somehow being with Marissa brought her back, even just for a second of the familiar smile or the way her cheekbones were shaped so perfectly—so identical so her sister's. It was easy to tell Marissa that he loved her, because it was almost as if she was Babe in JR's confused mind. But now he knew that no one could replace the mother of his son.

Annie—on the other hand—was nothing like Marissa. He loved her. He really loved her, but loving her was betraying Babe, so he couldn't put it into words. Putting it into words that she could hear made it real, and if it was real he felt like he was betraying his lost love. She was still in his life through AJ. Throughout the long talks that JR had with her before she died, every once in a while the subject of worst-case-scenario would come up. What if something happened to one of them? What would be done about AJ? How would one of them want the other to handle things? Most of those questions were left unanswered, but one wasn't. Both agreed that in the unfortunate case that one of them passed away, they would want the other to be happy and find love again.

"Babe…I've found it," JR whispered, tilting his head to look out at the stars through the nearby window. "I've found it."


	8. Chapter 8

Annie woke up with one of the worst hangover headaches she had ever experienced. She groaned, pulling herself to a stand. She looked at JR, asleep in the bed beside where she was sleeping. It dawned on her that he didn't leave her all night. She just looked at him for a bit longer, daring herself to speak her mind to him even if he wasn't awake. She cursed her cowardice and turned to head downstairs. She habitually turned to go into the parlor, having gotten in the habit of sipping coffee on the couch down there.

She was startled by an unwelcome guest—Marissa—sitting on the couch.

"You look like hell," she said with a blatant smirk, amused at herself. Annie glared at her.

"What are you even doing here?" Annie groaned, sitting on the couch across from Marissa after a small dizzy spell.

"Just thought I'd stop by," Marissa said nonchalantly, standing up with her purse over her shoulder. "I and I brought something for you." She slowly slinked her hand into her large purse and pulled out a black gun.

Annie froze.

"What are you doing?" Annie asked, stepping backwards and trying unsuccessfully to hide her nervous stammer.

"Just trying to give you a bit of well-deserved payback for the destruction you caused," Marissa said, her voice darkening to an inhuman mutter. "You screw up everything in your path, Annie—my marriage, your marriage, a truly good man, and even your own kid."

"I've had my share of mistakes," Annie admitted, taking yet another step backwards. "But Marissa…I'm paying for them. My marriage ended because of my own actions. I was in jail…an asylum…I couldn't even see my own daughter sometimes."

"Oh, poor Annie, completely redeemed now, are you?" Marissa sang in a high-pitched voice, raising the gun and aiming it at Annie's head. "I don't think so."

The next three seconds were the longest Annie had ever experienced. JR appeared out of nowhere behind Marissa and grabbed the gun.

A shot was fired.

A body fell to the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

"JR!" Annie screamed, tears pouring from her eyes as she rushed over to him, not even caring that she ended up kneeling on a pool of blood. Marissa fell backwards in shock, then threw herself to her feet and ran out of the house.

JR's chest was moving up and down at a dangerous pace. Annie put her hand on his heart as if to slow it. She felt the wet, sticky blood beneath her fingers from his gunshot wound to the chest.

"JR, hang on," Annie begged him, her head tilting down, closer to his. His eyes were just barely open, fluttering wildly as his gaze drifted from one corner of the room to the other. He was just barely conscious. "Hang on, JR. For your son." She paused for a moment, then bend down so that her lips met his ear. "For me."

"Mommy?" whimpered a voice from the doorway. Emma gasped at the sight of JR in the bloody state that he was. Annie's head spun around to face her daughter.

"Emma, get me a phone, now!" she said, trying as hard as she could, considering the situation, to make Emma see that she snapped because it was an emergency and not because Emma did anything wrong. Emma immediately ran out of the room and returned seconds later with a phone for her mother. She turned to Emma once again, taking her daughter's cheek with her on free hand.

"Baby, listen to me, okay?" she said as calmly as she possibly could. "I need you to go into the kitchen and grab all four hand towels sitting by the sink, can you do that for me?" Emma immediately nodded and ran off as Annie dialed 9-1-1.

"God…" she whispered to herself as JR slipped into more of an unconscious state. "JR…God, JR please be alright…"


	10. Chapter 10

Annie solemnly grasped JR's unmoving hand. He lay completely still in the hospital bed—his eyes closed in peaceful unconsciousness. She tangled her fingers into his and squeezed, trying to get some reaction. Anything.

Annie was startled by a knock on the door. She whirled around to see Ryan with a comforting smile, holding little Emma's hand. She could tell Emma was trying to be strong, but as soon as the little girl saw JR lying in the bed, tears met her eyes and she ran into her mother's arms.

"It's okay, sweetie," Annie whispered, not believing her own words. Ryan stepped in and walked over to the two of them, putting a hand on Emma's shoulder to let him know that he was there. Annie looked up at him. "That's for bringing her."

"Of course," Ryan said softly. Emma pulled away from Annie and crawled onto the foot of the bed to sit with JR. Annie brought a hand to her mouth, trying not to let a sob escape. Ryan gave her an apologetic frown and wrapped his hands around her. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Annie didn't move from his arms, and Ryan didn't care. He just let Annie cry.

Just a foot away from them, Emma stretched out beside JR and hugged him as best she could considering his position. She gave him a kiss on the forehead, hoping it would make him better.

Suddenly, Annie remembered something. She pulled away and looked at Ryan in the eye.

"Marissa…?"

"She's in jail," Ryan answered quickly. He looked to Emma for a minute to make sure she wasn't listening. "They're going to test her sanity or something—but either way she's not coming back anytime soon." Annie let out a breath.

"Oh God…" she whispered. "Poor AJ."

"He's staying with Tad and Krystal for now," Ryan informed her. "I ran into Tad the other day. He says AJ doesn't know anything about JR or Marissa yet."

"I can't even imagine…" Annie whimpered. She looked at Emma. "God…if something happened to us and Emma—"

"Hey," Ryan interrupted quickly, putting both hands on her shoulders. "Nothing's happening to either of us. Emma will always have her parents and tons of people who love her." Annie didn't have the energy to protest. She sat back in the chair beside JR and returned to her previous position, taking his hand.

Suddenly, she felt something. The shock threw her to her feet.

"JR?" she said urgently, touching his cheek. "JR, can you hear me?" To Annie's great relief, JR let out a groan. He opened his blue eyes and Emma clapped with joy.

"Annie?" he whispered, his eyes adjusting. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and cringed. Before Annie could even turn around to ask Ryan to get a doctor, Ryan was already out the door and calling for Jake Martin. Dr. Martin ran in seconds later and immediately looked at JR's pulse.

"I'm going to need you all to leave for a minute," Jake said seriously, going over to JR and mumbling something to him about where he was hurting and how bad.

A reluctant Annie, Ryan, and Emma were forced to leave the room and be shut out with closed doors. Left there to wait.


	11. Chapter 11

It seemed like days before Jake came out of JR's hospital room. Emma had fallen asleep in her father's arms when he finally emerged. Annie jumped to her feet.

"How is she?" she asked Jake urgently. He frowned.

"It's not good," he admitted regretfully. He sighed, then lightly took Annie's arm and led her off to the side. He met her eyes with a serious look on his face. "Annie…I'm sorry, he lost so much blood, and the bullet is too close to his heart to remove." Annie's eyes starting to sting with impending tears.

"Are you saying…" Annie began, her voice trailing off. Jake nodded solemnly; he was clearly upset as well considering JR was such a close friend of the family.

"I'll break it to Tad…" Jake muttered, not knowing how he was going to tell his brother that JR—who was like a son to him—was most likely dying. Annie nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Can I see him?" she asked softly. Jake nodded.

"He's awake…for now. Don't take too long."

Annie immediately entered the hospital room, shocked at how pale JR was. He was just barely awake, sweat on his forehead. He turned his head at the sound of footsteps. His lips formed Annie's name, but no sound came out. Annie broke into sobs, pulling up a chair at the side of the bed and taking the hands of the man she cared so much for. He slowly moved a weak hand to her face, cupping her cheek and beckoning her to look at him.

"Annie, I...I love you," he whispered in a weak voice. Annie broke down completely, but managed to reply through her sobs.

"I know," she muttered. "I love you, too." She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss. He took her hand in his.

"AJ…there's…there's something…the…" Suddenly, JR cringed in pain, interrupting his sentence. Annie stood up.

"I'm getting Jake," she said, immediately turning to run out of the room. JR grabbed her hand before she could move an inch.

"No!" he blurted, pulling her closer to him. The pain subsided quickly. "Annie, I need you…"

"I'm here," she whispered passionately. "I'll always be here."

Slowly, a soft smile spread across JR's face. The look he had was so peaceful—so serene. His breathing slowed, and before she knew it, Annie felt his chest stop rising and falling beneath her hand.


	12. Chapter 12

Ryan pulled into the driveway in front of the Martin household. He looked at Annie, who sat in the passenger seat beside him.

"Are you alright?" he asked sincerely. Annie took a deep breath, reaching for the handle of the car door.

"As alright as I can be," she muttered. "I'll be better when I see AJ."

"Does he know?" asked Ryan. Annie nodded. Ryan looked down sadly, unable to imagine what the news of his father's death must have felt like to a kid around the age of his own young daughter. He glanced back at a sleeping Emma, hoping she would never have to go through anything even remotely close to that.

"I can't believe it's only been a day…" Annie whispered, having a second thought about opening the car door.

"Not even twenty-four hours," Ryan added. He reached over and embraced her comfortingly. "You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Thank you," Annie mumbled, her head on his shoulder. She sighed and pulled away from the hug, deciding that she had to go now or she will never want to leave the car. Ryan understood and gave her a slight wave goodbye.

Annie took her time walking up the steps that lead to the front door of the Martin household. After a deep breath to calm herself, she rang the doorbell. Within seconds Tad opened the door with puffy eyes.

"Thanks for coming," he said softly, gesturing for her to come in. He looked at her for a moment, seeing the sadness in her face.

"Annie!" cried a familiar voice from upstairs. AJ padded down and threw himself into Annie's arms. She hugged him back tightly, trying not to cry. After a moment, she pulled away from the hug and looked the little boy in the eye.

"You know I love you, right?" she said softly. He nodded with a smile, and she leaned down to give him a kiss on the head. Annie knew that Tad wanted to talk to her about something, but she couldn't help lifting the little boy into her arms and hugging him again. Tad looked at her for a moment.

"What?" Annie asked, noticing his stare.

"Oh…nothing," Tad said quickly. "It's just…I didn't know you two had grown so close." Tad stepped closer to look at AJ. "Hey, bud, do you mind going back upstairs just for a couple minutes so that I can talk to Annie?" AJ frowned.

"About daddy?" he asked with a slow sadness. It broke Annie's heart. Tad nodded and motioned for the boy to go upstairs. He obediently made his way up. Annie crossed her arms over her chest, almost feeling a sort of emptiness now that she wasn't holding AJ.

"Wow," Tad said softly. Annie's face twisted in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"I mean…I didn't think…" He sighed, then lead Annie into the living room and sat on the couch. Annie sat beside him. Tad continued. "I was lucky enough to have a conversation with JR the other day…and he let it slip out that he loved you."

"I know he did," Annie said quietly. "He told me."

"Good," Tad sighed with a smile, putting a hand on Annie's shoulder. "Because I'll be honest—I thought he was delirious. But…seeing the look on your face when you hugged AJ, and even now, talking about JR…I see that the feeling is—was—mutual."

"It was," Annie said, her voice cracking as she felt the tears come again. Tad tried to push back his own sadness. Suddenly, he stood up and walked across the room, picking up a sheet of paper from the coffee table.

"This is for you," he said, handing the paper to her.

Annie took it into her hands and saw that it was an envelope. She looked at Tad as if for an explanation, and he shrugged. She opened the envelope and pulled out three pages of a hand-written note. At the very top, it was dated September 25, 2008.

_Dear Annie,_

_Hopefully you will never have to see this letter, but in the unfortunate case that you have to read it, it means that both me and JR are gone. I hate to even think about it, but I guess with the danger that's been looming for Fusion after the Satin Slayer and the crazy things that have happened lately, I want to make sure these kinds of things are taken care of. I don't know how different things would be by the time you read this…maybe you're back with Ryan. Maybe you've found love somewhere else. Maybe you're on your own with your adorable little girl. Either way, you are such a strong person and I know you always will be._

_Annie, from the start, I knew we would be friends. We hit it off immediately, and our time at Fusion was a blast. There were times where you were the only person I could tolerate there. We had a bit of a blockage when Richie was in town, but you were right about him the entire time and I should have listened to you. You were right—he was dangerous. I don't know if you'll remember by the time you're reading this, but yesterday I walked out on the terrace and I startled you a bit. You said you were thinking about Richie. And we started talking, and I just knew you were the only person who felt the same way about him as I did. Of course, there was a time where I was interested in him romantically, but the similarity between us is we knew and witnessed what he was capable of and even after he was gone, we couldn't help but fear him around every corner._

_Tonight—the night I'm writing this, that is—you saved my son's life. Little Adam was choking, and you didn't hesitate for one moment to help him. He's alive right now because of you, and I will be eternally grateful._

_And that—along with many other reasons—is why I want you to take care of Little Adam. JR and I are gone, and I would not give a second thought about leaving my son in your care. The care of the woman I consider my best friend. You are an amazing mother to Emma, and you did not deserve to loose you and Ryan's child. God works in mysterious ways, sometimes. I hope you'll love Little Adam as much as JR and I do, keep him around his family, and let him know that his mommy and daddy are watching over him from up in Heaven._

_Babe Carey Chandler_

In tears, Annie sifted through the papers in her hand. Only one was not a note—it was a document. She noticed the signature of both Babe and JR at the bottom of it. Her eyes were immediately drawn to one piece of the document.

**In the event of the death of Adam Chandler, Jr. and Arabella Carey Chandler, the custody of Adam Chandler III will be granted to Annie Novak Lavery.**


	13. Chapter 13

_A Year and a Half Later…_

"Mom, wake up!" screeched the familiar voice of a little girl. Annie looked up from the comfort of her warm bed sheets to see two bouncing blonde heads plowing through the door. She let out a playful scream as ten-year-old Emma and eight-year-old AJ jumped onto her bed and deliberately dog piled on her. Their laughter brought a smile to Annie's face despite the annoying wake-up call.

"Come on, Aunt Annie," AJ begged. "You said we would go to the park today."

"We will…" Annie grumbled with playful exaggeration, her voice muffled by the pillow. "Five more minutes…"

"No!" both children screamed, letting out more loud laughter.

"Quiet down guys," Annie said, sitting up with a smile and pulling the loveable munchkins into her arms. "You're going to wake—"

As if on cue, a sharp cry could be heard from the room next door. Annie rolled her eyes at the loud kids and punished them with an attack tickle before standing up and going into the room next door. She turned the light on and peered into the crib, where her beautiful baby girl looked up with those gorgeous blue eyes she inherited from her father.

"Good morning," Annie whispered, reaching her hands into the crib and carefully lifting the ten-month-old baby into her arms. It wasn't long before Emma and AJ ran into the room.

"Now that Carey is up," AJ began. "Can we go to the park?" Emma nodded in agreement.

"Alright, fine," Annie gave in with a smile.

* * *

The school year had just ended and Pine Valley was feeling the warmth of summer, especially on a beautiful day in the park. Annie pushed baby Carey in a stroller with AJ on one side of her and Emma on the other. The baby had her pink blanket over her feet, letting the corner where Carey Hope Chandler was embroidered flap in the summer wind.

"I thought we were going to the park?" Emma said in a bit of a whine, questioning the wrong turn they made. Annie gave her a slight smile.

"We're stopping somewhere else first," she informed her daughter.

Within a minute, they reached a small graveyard. AJ's face fell a bit as they entered, but he walked ahead and sat in front of the grave that read 'Babe Arabella Carey Chandler.' Beside it was a newer gravestone with the name of his father on it—'Adam Chandler, Jr.'

Annie pushed Carey's stroller forward and met AJ beside the graves. Emma looked down solemnly.

"AJ?" Annie said softly. "Are you alright?" The little boy nodded, his face sinking with sadness but managing to hold back tears. He turned to face Annie.

"Aunt Annie…do you miss them, too?" he asked quietly.

"Every day," Annie assured him with a smile. She brushed the little boy's hair out of his eyes. He looked so much like Babe.

From inside her stroller, Carey reached her chubby fingers forward, pointing to JR's grave.

"Dada," she shrieked with a babyish excitement at recalling a word to identify something. It had been her first—she said it about two months ago when Annie and her little family visited the graveyard on JR's birthday.

"Yep, that's your Dada," Emma said to her baby sister. Annie smiled at her beautiful daughter. She had grown up so much in the past year. She had a maturity beyond her age and watched after AJ and Carey as if she was the extra parent that Annie didn't have for her children, minus Emma.

AJ had changed, too. He was still the sweet little boy that he had always been, but it was as if he was suddenly given this unstoppable drive. He worked hard for good grades, and did all tasks and chores asked of him without complaint. He didn't take anyone's hurtful words to heart and brushed it off like it was nothing. His determination in everything he did was beyond belief—that kind of determination could only come from a true Chandler.

Though Annie raised Emma, AJ, and Carey in her lake house that she bought soon after she discovered she was pregnant with Carey, she had a lot of help. First of all, the money she used to buy the house was given to her through the money that JR and Babe arranged in their will. It added up to 30 million dollars, but Annie just bought a family-friendly house, payed off the few things she needed to, put more than enough money in the kids' college funds, and saved the rest in the bank. Tad, Krystal, Damon, and pretty much every other member in the Martin household were always available for babysitting. Ryan had Emma every other week, and though he spent some individual time with his daughter, he often took AJ and Carey some place fun when with him and Emma when he got the chance. Annie had gotten closer to Amanda and Jake was finally used to their friendship. Annie and Amanda could already tell that Trevor and Carey were going to be the best of friends when they got a bit older. There were so many people in their huge family, and only a few were blood related. Their family was based on love, not genetics. And there was beyond enough love throughout.

In front of the graves, the little family of four sat in silence for a moment. Even Carey was quiet. A cloud passed across the sun, illuminating the flowery graveyard as if the sky had opened up, giving Babe and JR a glimpse of their family below.


	14. Chapter 14

_The darkness was so thick and endless that one could not see their own hand an inch from their face. The lack of light added to the hard chill in the room would send shivers up any spine. It was so quiet that one who awakened in the room might imagine that they are still asleep._

_But he wasn't._

_He was awake._

* * *

That was a preview to the sequel to "Save a Life," called "Save a Life Again." Want to know what's happened to Annie? How she gets through life without the man she loves? What mystery lurks nearby, involving some familiar faces? Then join _Stolen Hearts_, the best Jannie fan site there is!


End file.
